Although the bet was only a verbal agreement, it was signed by the royal families of the three kingdoms. Even if Aharu was reluctant, he could not go back on his word.

After the final discussion, it was decided that the Oirat and Tatar would each pay tribute of 5,000 war horses, including 4,000 stallions and 1,000 mares. The remaining number would be collected after the Great Yan New Year and then paid tribute again.

The total amount of tribute from the two countries was a full 10,000 war horses.

Converted into silver, it would be over a million taels! If this is included in the military expenditure, I don't know how long it will take to argue with the Ministry of War.

But now this is all free money!

The white-bearded Minister of the Imperial Household was grinning from ear to ear, and he squeezed into the Tatar and Wala delegations with a wine glass in hand, and pulled the other envoys to discuss the process of handing over the horses. It was not enough to just discuss, he also asked someone to bring paper and pen to sign a contract on the spot.

Not only did they require the current horses to be delivered as soon as possible, but even the number and approximate date of the horses to be replenished in the next year were written into the contract, as if they were afraid that the Tatars and the Oirat would default on the debt.

The Tatar and Oirat envoys' faces turned green as they were being held up to sign the contract.

The hunting rankings have been determined, and the winter hunting of red rhinoceros is also coming to an end.

After some preparations, the team set out for Beijing on the first day of December.

According to usual practice, the envoys of the two countries should have left after the winter hunting, but this year Tatar was going to form an alliance with Dayan. In order to discuss the details of the alliance, Ahalu and his party did not return to Tatar immediately, but went back to Wangjing together.

The Wala's attempt to steal a chicken ended up with a loss. Mubar's head wound had not healed yet, so he was unwilling to stay and followed them.

As a result, the team returning to the capital was even more powerful than when it came. It took three days on the road before it arrived in the capital.

Emperor Longfeng caught a cold on the way. After arriving in Beijing, he drove directly back to the Qianqing Palace and handed over the reception of the Oirat and Tatars to Yin Chengyu.

Just before leaving, he asked Gao Xian to call Xue Shu away.

When Gao Xian came, his face was very long, and his voice was much sharper than usual because of his unwillingness: "Xue Shu, His Majesty has summoned you, please come with me."

Xue Shu glanced at him coldly, lifted the curtain and said something to Yin Chengyu, then jumped off the carriage and followed him to meet Emperor Longfeng.

Emperor Longfeng was ill and in poor health. These days, he would not see anyone except the imperial physician.

Xue Shu walked to the side of the carriage and bowed through the curtain.

Emperor Longfeng in the carriage did not say anything. He raised his eyebrows, wondering what was wrong with Emperor Longfeng.

Walk all the way to the Qianqing Palace.

The eunuchs and female officials had brought in cotton curtains to block the cold wind, and only then was Emperor Longfeng helped down from the carriage.

Xue Shu noticed that he had a lot of white hair in his hair, his not-so-tall body was slightly hunched, and he looked lifeless. He looked at least ten years older than before.

It doesn't look like a cold, but more like some other illness.

Xue Shu thought about what Emperor Longfeng had been fed in the past six months. A trace of emotion flashed across his eyes, but it quickly subsided and he calmed down.

Emperor Longfeng was escorted into the Qianqing Palace by a large crowd. The dragons in the palace were burning fiercely, and he took off his thick fox fur coat, drank some medicine and rinsed his mouth with the help of the palace maids, and then looked at Xue Shu who was waiting quietly at the side.

He looked at the man carefully for a long time before he asked in a slow tone, "Do you know why I summoned you?"

"I don't know."

Emperor Longfeng laughed, but stopped talking about it. He asked again, "I asked you to serve in Ciqing Palace before. Do you feel resentful?"

“There is no resentment.”

"Don't you have it, or don't you dare to have it?" Emperor Long Feng stopped smiling, leaned forward a little, and stared at him with a pair of cloudy eyes, as if he wanted to see through him.

"Thunder, lightning, rain and dew are all grace from your Majesty. I have never felt any resentment." Xue Shu looked at him with a frank look in his eyes, without any fear.

Emperor Longfeng was satisfied and stopped asking questions. He softened his tone and said, "You have done a great job in rescuing the driver in the paddock. Do you want any reward?"

Xue Shu shook his head and said no: "Protecting the driver is my duty, I dare not talk about rewards."

These words obviously made Emperor Longfeng even more satisfied. A smile appeared on his old face again, and his expression seemed much calmer: "You are a straight-forward person."

Last time he summoned Xue Shu and asked him about risking his life to save the prince.

Xue Shu did not make any excuses at the time. He just felt that Xue Shu was just like everyone else, and was dragged by the prince. In addition, Xue Shu's attitude was disrespectful, so he got angry, took away his official position, and sent him to Ciqing Palace to do odd jobs and reflect on his actions.

But after the rescue in the enclosure, he felt that Xue Shu risked his life to save the prince when the Qingzhou earthquake occurred, not necessarily because he was close to the prince, but was just doing his duty.

Otherwise, when they encountered the tiger in the enclosure that day, even the Royal Guards who were accompanying the driver were unable to react in time, so he would not have to take the risk to rescue the driver.

Emperor Longfeng supported his knees with his hands, his doubts had been dispelled, and he was thinking about the arrangements for Xue Shu.

Xue Shu is a capable person, and he has no complicated power behind him. He is also a eunuch. If you want to gain a foothold in the palace, you can only be loyal to him. Although he is a bit unruly, he does not take advantage of his power to be arrogant. He is still a loyal and upright person with a simple and clear mind. He is more trustworthy than Gao Xian and others.

At least when in danger, he will come to the rescue regardless of his own safety.

After thinking it over for a while, Emperor Longfeng quickly made a decision: "Although you don't want a reward, I have always been clear about rewards and punishments. Gao Yuan committed a crime, and the Imperial Household Department is short of a writing eunuch, so you will fill the position. The position of the governor of the East Factory has been vacant for a long time, so you will also take it."

"Give me another dragon robe and a hundred taels of gold." Seeing Xue Shu's calm face, he was more satisfied with his character and said happily, "Do your job well in the future and don't let me down."

All of this happened exactly as Xue Shu had expected.

As early as when Emperor Longfeng demoted him to Ciqing Palace, he had already paved the way back.

But when that day really came, I still felt unhappy at the thought that I would no longer be able to serve in Ciqing Palace.

Xue Shu hid the anger in his eyes very well and accepted the order and thanked the emperor.

Emperor Longfeng was a little tired after talking to him for a while, so he said, "Go and hand over your duties first, and then go to the Imperial Household Department to take up your duties in three days."

After saying this, he waved his hand, signaling him to leave.

Xue Shu bowed and then left. When he walked out of the palace gate, he saw Gao Xian waiting outside the palace.

Gao Xian also saw him, but rarely said a word. His face looked extremely ugly, and it was obvious that he had already known the news.

Xue Shu glanced at him, raised his eyebrows, and cupped his hands: "Master Gao, please take care of me in the future."

Gao Xian had been eyeing the position of the governor of Dongchang for a long time and had already decided which of his sons he would want to take the vacancy, but he never expected that Xue Shu would snatch the position away from him.

This not only meant that Dongchang would fall into Xue Shu's hands in the future, but also meant that Emperor Longfeng trusted Xue Shu more than him.

Gao Xian almost bit his teeth to pieces, but Xue Shu was in the limelight, so he had to avoid the sharp edge for the time being. He could only smile and bow: "Congratulations, Lord Xue."

Xue Shu glanced at him and walked into the snow without responding.

Within half a day, the news of Xue Shu's reinstatement spread.

When Xue Shu went to Xichang, Zhao Youwei, the supervisor of Xichang, heard the news and came out to greet him. He was smiling so much that his face was full of wrinkles, like a fat white steamed bun.

The West Factory had been suppressed by the East Factory for many years and was not taken seriously. The supervisor Zhao Youwei had not made any achievements in these years, and he just worked hard on the West Factory. Later, Xue Shu took over the West Factory, handled a few good cases, and transferred some people from the West Factory. Only then did the West Factory start to look good.

Although Zhao Youwei had his eyes on Xue Shu, he was also wary of him and did not dare to fight for power openly.

It was not until Xue Shu was dismissed by Emperor Longfeng and sent to do odd jobs in Ciqing Palace that he dared to seize power. He gathered together all the rebellious subordinates under Xue Shu and truly showed off his power as the governor of Xichang.

But no one would have expected that within just three months, Xue Shu would rise again!

He was also promoted to the supervisor of Dongchang.

Not only Zhao Youwei, but also other people who had previously worked under Xue Shu and later defected to Zhao Youwei were all panicked when they heard the news.

Zhao Youwei followed Xue Shu with his body bent, and asked tentatively, "Master Xue, are you back to pack up your things?"

Although they were both the governors of the same factory, the power of the East Factory was much greater than that of the West Factory. The situation was stronger than the person, so Zhao Youwei had to pretend to be a grandson.

Xue Shuxing walked to the study, turned around and looked at him and the panicked servants, raised the corners of his lips coldly, and said slowly: "Although His Majesty let me take over the East Factory, the West Factory will sooner or later also be under my command. It doesn't matter where we live. There's no need to clean up."

He retracted his gaze and slanted towards Zhao Youwei, whose face was frozen, with a hint of coldness: "What do you think, Governor Zhao?"

Zhao Youwei almost couldn't hold back his smile, and could only stammer, "Master Xue is right."

Xue Shu nodded in satisfaction and pushed the door open and walked into the room: "Send Wei Xihe and Cui Ci here."

Zhao Youwei wanted to follow, but was almost hit on the nose by the closing door.

He stopped in front of the closed door, his expression changed several times, but he finally went to deliver the message obediently.

The guards who saw this scene exchanged glances, some were happy and some were sad.

I'm afraid the weather in Xichang is going to change again.

Xue Shu summoned Wei Xihe and Cui Ci, and after hearing what had happened in the East and West Factories and in the imperial palace in recent days, he ordered them to investigate the details of the Thousand Households in Charge of Criminal Justice, the Hundred Households in Charge of Criminal Justice, and several other file managers in the East Factory.

Gao Xian had worked hard to run Dongchang for many years. Although Gao Yuan was gone, all the people in Dongchang were his confidants, and their power should not be underestimated. Although Xue Shu had obtained the order of Emperor Longfeng to take over Dongchang, he still had to work harder to completely control Dongchang.

In his previous life, he had been working at the West Factory. Later, the West Factory handled several successful cases, and as it became more powerful, it continued to suppress the East Factory until it took over the East Factory.

At that time, Cui Ci was in charge of the East Factory, but he had never been in charge of the East Factory personally.

But it is not that difficult nowadays, it just takes some time.

What worried Xue Shu more than how to take over the Dongchang was that he would no longer be able to enter and leave the Ciqing Palace freely in the future.

After arranging everything and sending Wei Xihe and Cui Ci away, Xue Shu glanced at the sky outside before getting up and heading towards Ciqing Palace.

It was already past midnight, and the sky and earth were filled with a dark, dark color. Only the lantern in his hand emitted a faint light, swaying in the wind and snow.

Xue Shu entered the Linzhi Gate and bumped into Zheng Duobao who was walking out.

Zheng Duobao saw that he said "Congratulations" first, guessed that he was most likely here to report to His Highness, and reminded him: "His Highness is still in Hongren Hall."

Xue Shu thanked him and went straight to Hongren Hall.

Yin Chengyu was reading a book under the lamp. Her hair crown was untied, her long black hair half draped over her shoulders, and her white-socked feet were stepping on the increasingly round belly of the tiger cub. When she heard footsteps, she looked up at the door and said, "Here they come."

From the tone of her voice, it seemed like she was waiting for him.

Xue Shu walked forward, frowned when he saw the tiger cub lying on its belly, and unceremoniously picked up the cub and threw it aside. He then knelt on one knee beside it, tucked Yin Chengyu's feet into his arms and held them tightly.

"You've been traveling for days, why don't you go and rest?"

Seeing his actions, Yin Chengyu raised his eyebrows, but did not reprimand him. He just put his cold feet closer to him to absorb the warmth: "I heard that my father transferred you to the East Factory?" He smiled and glanced at him, moving his toes: "I would like to congratulate Governor Xue first."

The call of "Lord Xue" was very meaningful.

He had called him this in his previous life.

Xue Shu held his feet to stop him from moving. He stared at him and said, "From now on, I will no longer be able to serve Your Highness every day." His sword-like eyebrows were furrowed, and he finally spoke his heart out, "If it weren't for something important, I would rather stay by Your Highness' side."

Yin Chengyu looked at him and said with a smile, "Nothing."

"The eunuch in charge of writing in the Imperial Household Department, one step further, is the eunuch in charge of seals." He stared at Xue Shu, and his fingertips traced the flying fish pattern on his robe: "Wearing a python robe, in charge of the inner palace. Who doesn't want to be the nine thousand year old man who is second only to the emperor and above ten thousand people?"

His red lips curled up, his face showed no emotion, and his tone was light and light, as if he was asking about the present, but also about the past.

Xue Shu held his fingertips and said without hesitation: "I just want to be above one person."

Yin Chengyu looked into his eyes and saw his own figure in them.

He pulled his hand back and suddenly laughed: "Lord Xue is too ambitious."

Xue Shu pursed his lips and looked at him without refutation.

In his past and present lives, all he had ever wanted was this one person.

One can say that he is not very ambitious, or one can say that he is extremely ambitious.

All we want in life is to catch the moon in the sky.

Seeing that he was silent, Yin Chengyu picked up the tiger cub that was circling around his feet, kicked him with his toes, and said, "Forget it, this is all you can do. Put on my shoes, I'm going back to the bedroom to rest."

The author has something to say:

Big Dog Gou; I don’t want to be a nine thousand year old man, I just want to be your highness’s old man.